Moral Corruption Through Exces

The Great Gatsby is set in the United States of America, during the Roaring Twenties. The 1920’s were a time of prosperity and free-spiritedness for many Americans. The economy, powered by World War I, was thriving, as the value of stock and real estate steadily increased. Cities represented booming centers of commerce, where people drank bootleg liquor, drove Model-T’s, went to sporting events, and attended live jazz concerts. This rebellious time in our country’s history bred change in the literary world. Writers such as Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Henry James brought a realist revolution upon American literature. Authors, experimenting with realism, freed up their language and wrote about themes, such as life in the city and sex.

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the lavish lifestyles of some of America’s aristocrats during the affluent 1920’s. The story is set around a New York social circle, whose livelihood revolves primarily around excessive partying and unhappy home lives. Through out the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates that it is excessive wealth, which is leading these characters towards moral corruption and vain desi

Daisy Buchanan finds her life to be boring, despite wealth and hectic social schedule. Daisy appears to have no purpose in life as she drifts from party to party, asking herself what she will do with her life and the next thirty years. Daisy’s daughter, Pammy, lends no validation to her boring life either. Daisy appears to be incapable of any maternal feelings and treats her daughter as a play object. Also, in the course of Daisy’s constant search for entertainment, she leads Gatsby on, kills Myrtle Wilson with an automobile and doesn’t even stop, and is partly responsible for Gatsby’s final fate. Daisy’s actions illustrate that she believes herself to be above all other life.

The central character Jay Gatsby, for whom the book was named, is spoken about with an air of intrigue and partial admiration by the narrator Nick Carraway, but Gatsby proves to be morally questionable himself. Gatsby was born under the name of James Gatz, to subsistence farmers in North Dakota. He decided very early that he wanted more excitement than his home had to offer, so he leaves North Dakota in search of thrills and material power. One day while relaxing on the beach, Gatsby spies a beautiful yacht, docked off of the coast and borrows a boat so that he can row out to it and introduce himself to the owner of the boat. The young Gatsby meets the owner, Dan Cody, who is an extremel

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